


Running Your Race

by TimmyJaybird



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Some hurt/comfort, handjobs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-29
Updated: 2016-06-29
Packaged: 2018-07-19 02:20:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7340701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimmyJaybird/pseuds/TimmyJaybird
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the ship turned against the team, Keith finds himself just wanting to remember that his body can actually feel <i>good</i> again. That not everything has to hurt.</p><p>Shiro could go for that same reminder.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Running Your Race

**Author's Note:**

> Ah, that first fic feeling for a new fandom. I meant to be in Shiro's head for this fic, and somehow ended up entirely in Keith's. Aw well. Takes place after episode 9.
> 
> (Curious what I blasted the entire time while I wrote this? Check out "Burn the Night Away" by There for Tomorrow)

Keith winced, glancing over his shoulder and catching a glimpse of Shiro, working one hand along the tense muscle there. “Careful,” he muttered, as those fingers dug in. He groaned, the muscles  _ burning _ before the pain began to ease, slowly.

 

“I know what I’m doing,” Shrio offered, and the thing was- Keith  _ knew _ that. It felt like Shiro knew something about just about  _ everything _ . But he was tense, was buzzing and jittery from watching the damn ship turn on them completely, feeling like the walls of  _ home _ were caving in around him, wanting to crack his bones and grind them down into dust.

 

Maybe he was just  _ tired _ , too.

 

“An hour in a pod and I’d be fine,” Keith pointed out, as Shiro’s hand moved to his neck. The feeling of cool, smooth metal was completely absent- Shiro’s other hand resting flat against the small table Keith was sitting on. The hand behind his neck gripped, and Keith tensed up, shoulders hunching.

 

“Relax,” Shiro offered, voice shockingly  _ soft _ . “It’s only me. I won’t hurt you.” He gave a squeeze, felt the cords of muscle loosening, as Keith sucked in a breath-  _ believed _ it, down to his core. He bowed his head as Shiro squeezed rhythmically, continuing to relax the muscles. “The entire ship is still recovering, the pods aren’t functioning. Coran said it could take hours to get most things back online properly.” Shiro smirked, adding, “So the old fashioned methods it is.”

 

Keith rolled his eyes, but couldn’t  _ deny _ it felt good. His shirt was tossed across the room, on a chair, leaving every bit of skin from his waist up visible for prying eyes.

 

Except those eyes were just  _ Shiro’s _ , and they didn’t really feel prying.

 

“You’re going to bruise,” Shiro said, easing his hand down Keith’s back now, tips of his fingers dragging along his spine. “Once the pods are up, we’ll get you in one. Think you can hold out a few hours?”

 

Keith huffed, turning at the waist to face Shiro better- still fully dressed in his suit, looking more like he was ready to bolt out the damn door than anything else. His eyes were jerky,  _ nervous _ , and  _ that _ was unsettling. “Yeah,” Keith offered, reaching up to rub at his forehead, pushing his thick, dark hair back. “What about you? Are you okay?”

 

It seemed like a silly question. At the end of the day, were  _ any _ of them okay? Lightyears and what felt like  _ lifetimes _ away from home, thrust into roles that felt bigger than any of them could ever hope to be-

 

But  _ Shiro _ \- he’d been through  _ hell _ and Keith knew none of them really had a clue.

 

“Fine.” It was a blatant  _ lie _ \- and Keith couldn’t even pinpoint exactly why he knew it was. Something in the twitch of Shiro’s mouth, a hesitation in his breath, that continued nervous glancing of his eyes, anywhere but Keith’s face…

 

He shouldn’t  _ know _ him so well. But there was something always  _ intriguing _ about Shiro.

 

“You’re lying,” Keith said, reaching down to grasp his shoulder now, giving it a good roll. Feeling where it definitely would bruise- and he wished Shrio would touch him again. Just work his muscles into putty, until they melted right off his bone and he was nothing but a puddle on the floor. “What did you hear?”

 

Silently,  _ what was that voice inside your head _ ? It didn’t matter the source was Sendak, that it wasn’t a  _ disembodied _ voice, there was a source, and his connection to the ship could have easily breached into Shiro’s head-

 

“Nothing.” Shiro pulled back completely, and for a moment, Keith really thought he was going to bolt out the door. And… he didn’t  _ want _ him to. Suddenly it was as if this single moment had to  _ mean _ something, like he had a chance to pick at the scar that covered up the wires that strung Shiro together, had a chance to see his core and how it ticked-

 

And maybe everyone deserved to have someone else  _ understand _ , even for a moment.

 

“You can… tell me.” He shrugged a shoulder, staring up through thick lashes, keeping his own gaze unwavering. “Or you can keep it bottled up and let it make you  _ rot _ . What’s going to work best?”

 

God  _ forbid _ he didn’t let the damn attitude get the best of him for one minute.

 

Except Shiro, he was cracking the smallest of smiles. “Punk,” he offered, reaching out, getting his hand in Keith’s hair and giving it a good tussel. “I didn’t hear anything good. That’s all you need.”

 

“Not all you need,” Keith pointed out, as Shiro turned and hopped up onto the table, sitting next to him. Keith took a moment to just glance over him, before he leaned against his arm, pushing gently, playfully. “You expect us all to work as a team, and you’re locked in your head all the time. Not really helping things.”

 

“Wouldn’t expect a lecture on  _ teamwork _ from you,” Shiro pointed out, shifting his shoulder and arm back- and then Keith was falling into the space, and he really didn’t know  _ how _ , but it felt  _ good _ . He leaned his head towards the crook of Shiro’s neck, as that arm curled around him-

 

And maybe he realized he’d wished for something like this, when it felt like everything was too damn much. He wondered if anyone else did- if Pidge or Lance or Hunk looked at Shiro and just wanted a part of him to wrap around them, lock them up tight and safe somewhere, for just a second. Just one  _ damn _ second.

 

“He said I was broken,” Shiro finally offered, in a voice that was a whisper, from the core of his chest, the cracks between his ribs. “I was trying to interrogate Sendak, but all I heard were my own words turned on me.”

 

Keith kept his mouth shut, watched as Shiro turned, held up his hand- the  _ Galra enhancement _ , closing his fist and studying the curves of his knuckles.

 

“They’re inside me,” he whispered, “and… I don’t know how far they went. How much of  _ me _ is really  _ them _ .” He clenched his fist tighter, a bitter laugh bubbling up his throat. “Maybe he was  _ right _ . They wanted a monster, maybe it’s in me. Maybe I’m just going to  _ snap _ one of these days.”

 

Keith reached across his body, slowly, carefully laid his hand out on Shiro’s closed fist. “If you were a monster,” he pointed out, “you wouldn’t pilot a lion. The  _ black lion _ , at that. You’re our  _ head _ , and if there’s some  _ infection _ in your mind waiting to eat you alive- something out there thinks you’re better than it.”

 

“Believing in fate a little bit?” Keith glanced up, and Shiro had those grey eyes trained on him now. Keith smirked, squeezed his hand over Shiro’s.

 

“At this point? Anything’s possible.” 

 

_ Anything _ , like the fact that he was still nestled right against Shiro’s side. That he was touching the part of him that was a  _ constant _ reminder of his time in Galra imprisonment. That he didn’t want to  _ leave _ , if anything, if he could be closer, maybe…

 

Maybe he wanted that. Maybe he really  _ had _ wanted that.

 

Keith was moving, before he could even mean to. Pulled his hand back- didn’t miss the way Shiro’s eyes darted to the sudden break in contact, before training back on him. He settled up on his knees, reached out and got his hands on Shiro’s shoulders, sliding them up, towards his neck. They paused when his thumbs could rub against Shiro’s jaw, and Keith’s pulse was running marathons, within his head. He could hear the slam of it, within his skull, could feel it out in the tips of his fingers, made them warm and tingling, like they might burst open to relieve the pressure.

 

Shiro wasn’t pushing him away.

 

And that only drove him farther.

 

He shuffled closer, his thumbs stroking his jaw again. He  _ wanted _ to believe, in what, he wasn’t sure- but  _ something _ , in that moment. And when he inclined his head, eyes flicking down from Shiro’s grey to his mouth, before moving back up- when he leaned closer, took a single moment to inhale the breath that escaped Shiro’s lips- he  _ had _ to believe.

 

Or he was about to make the biggest mistake of his life.

 

The last bit of space closed, and Keith pressed his mouth to Shiro’s. For a moment there was nothing,  _ nothing at all _ , just the press of his lips, no movement or life- but it was  _ warm _ , and that itself was enough to make Keith feel a little dizzy.

 

A moment later, though, and suddenly Shiro’s mouth was moving- and not to pull away, to bark out his confusion. It melded against Keith’s, slid in ways that had the younger shivers, clutching tighter, fingers digging into the suit where it clung to Shiro’s neck. He tilted his head further, and suddenly an arm was hooking around him, keeping him steady, close, as the wet sounds of the kiss echoed in the room.

 

Echoed in Keith’s skull, resonated and made him forget to even breathe.

 

He moved to pull away, got only a fraction of space, half a breath, and Shiro was pushing forward, kissing him harder. His mouth was heavy and so utterly perfect that Keith could only hold on, hang on for dear life, thinking he might topple right off the table. That a void was going to open up and toss him right out into space.

 

He shifted, trying to get closer, felt the twitch of Shiro’s hand, still on the table, as the muscles in his arm and shoulder pulled. One of his hands eased back, cupped the back of Shiro’s neck, the base of his skull, as he shifted, lifted one leg until he was straddling one of Shiro’s thighs.

 

Shiro’s hands opened, pressed to the gentle curve of his waist, clutched at bare skin. Keith could feel his blunt nails nearly digging in, and somewhere in the back of his throat made a little noise over it, as he felt Shiro pushing closer, forcing Keith to lean back, to  _ trust _ the hold Shiro had on him. He felt Shiro’s tongue, tracing his lower lip, and without thought or question he opened his mouth, let the warm muscle slid along his, push at the plush of his cheeks, the sharp points of his teeth.

 

Keith shook, once, trying to suck in a breath, another noise, louder now, escaping. He tried to pull away, but he barely got his eyes up on Shiro’s, got a breath, before Shiro was back again-

 

And, okay, Keith was mentally filing away that kissing was  _ definitely _ something Shiro must have  _ liked _ , because he was unwilling to stop. He squeezed his legs against Shiro’s thigh- and god, realized just how much  _ bigger _ than him, than anyone else, Shiro was. He pushed down against the muscle, grinding into him without meaning to- and felt Shiro’s breath catch, in the renewed kiss. Keith tried to smile over that, but it was hard, with Shiro’s mouth right there.

 

Still, a half smile was better than nothing at all.

 

He reached down with one hand, the other still clutching at the back of Shiro’s neck, running down along his stomach, trying to get between Shiro’s legs. And it was going to fast, but Keith didn’t know how to stop- didn’t know how to  _ want _ to stop. All he knew was this felt  _ good _ , felt like a distraction from everything that had just happened- felt like a way to make his body feel  _ good _ again.

 

And felt like it had been burning up in him, for quite some time.

 

Keith managed to break the kiss again, bowed his head and nuzzled into Shiro’s neck, as he rubbed his palm against his groin, felt Shiro trying to push towards him. “How,” Keith managed- and was  _ that _ his voice? That throaty sound that nearly cracked at the edges? “How do you get this  _ open _ ?”

 

He could open his  _ own _ suit  _ on _ him, but someone else’s? It felt like a damn jigsaw puzzle.

 

Finally,  _ finally _ , Shiro’s other hand was moving, working along fastenings, until he was tugging the front open. Keith shoved his hand inside, was met by  _ bare _ , warm skin, and his breath hitched. Did Shiro not wear  _ anything _ underneath his suit?

 

Consider that filed away for later, as well.

 

His fingers brushed along his cock, felt it give a twitch, and he shivered. He mouthed at Shiro’s jaw, rubbing against his thigh again, as Shiro’s hand moved towards him, heading for the zipper of his pants, and then hesitating.

 

“I can’t,” he said, suddenly pulling back. Keith paused, his mouth still pressed to Shiro’s jaw, his fingers pulling away from the man’s cock. He forced himself to sit up, pull his hand back out, looking at Shiro with large, dark eyes, pupils blown with need.

 

But Shiro was saying  _ no _ .

 

And for a moment, Keith felt like an  _ idiot _ . Because of  _ course _ Shiro was saying no, he had no damn pretense to think this was something he’d actually want. Had no idea the type of person Shiro was attracted to- if he even  _ was _ . He just… he needed something to feel  _ good _ for once and-

 

Keith watched Shiro glance at his hand, at the Galra tech that was now a part of him. “He was right, you know,” he said, and Keith inhaled, slowly, trying to train his focus on Shiro’s voice, ignoring the throb in his own groin. “Sendak. I can see the monster, every time I look at  _ this _ .”

 

Keith frowned at that, before he reached out, grasped Shiro’s wrist. He squeezed, pulling the hand towards him, pressing it to his bare chest as Shiro’s fingers splayed. Shiro flinched, as if the idea of something  _ alien _ touching Keith was horrendous. “You’re  _ not _ ,” Keith said, staring him, unwavering, in those grey eyes. “Shiro, you’re not a monster.”

 

“You don’t  _ know _ that.” The hand on Keith’s chest flexed, and it was mind blowing, how it felt. The metal was smooth, it lacked any sharp, hard edges. And it wasn’t  _ cold _ , like he expected. “You don’t know what I might  _ become _ .”

 

Keith grasped his wrist again, forcing his hand up, until it rested on his  _ throat _ . Shiro’s eyes went wide, as Keith lifted his chin, staring down, now. “I trust you,” he offered, “If you were a monster, you could strangle me  _ right now _ . It could look like any sort of accident, considering the ship’s systems are still not completely debugged. You could  _ give in _ and feel how  _ good _ it feels to take that sort of power. But…” he forced Shiro’s hand to inch up, until a fingertip was pressing against his lower lip. “You  _ won’t _ . And I know that…”

 

He kissed the fingertip, watched Shiro’s eyes widen, slightly.

 

“Can you feel that?”

 

Shiro nodded, and Keith realized he knew so  _ little _ about this part of Shiro. Realized how little anyone really knew about him, and the changes he’s gone through, since his capture. He didn’t volunteer the information, didn’t even  _ remember _ all of it- and how could any of them press that? If there was a pandora’s box of  _ agony _ inside Shiro, Keith didn’t want to open it-

 

But he wasn’t  _ afraid _ of it, either.

 

Keith squeezed Shiro’s wrist, opened his mouth and sucked two fingers in. His tongue rolled over the smooth metal, and he watched Shiro’s lips part, heard the groan that fell from them, and let his own thighs shake over it. He squeezed around Shiro’s thigh, pushed his tongue between the two fingers as his hand fell from Shiro’s wrist. Carefully, Shiro pulled his fingers from Keith’s mouth, dragged his lower lip down and watched his eyes grow heavy lidded, for a moment.

 

“I want to feel  _ good _ again,” Keith admitted, as that hand moved down his neck, Shiro’s thumb pushing against his pulse. “After all this I just want to remember that I  _ can _ .”

 

Shiro nodded, slowly, fingers curling to the back of Keith’s neck, pulling him in. Their foreheads pressed together, and his voice was slow, deep and quiet as he said, “If this is what you want, you can have it.”

 

“It has to be what  _ you _ want to,” Keith countered, and the arm locked around his waist was moving, releasing him and suddenly Shiro’s hand was moving around him, working his belt open  _ singlehandedly _ . Keith exhaled, and Shiro offered the smallest of smiles.

 

“I think I need the reminder as well,” he admitted, and Keith nodded, as Shiro pulled back just enough to reangle, to line his mouth up with Keith’s. “But,” he breathed, dragging Keith’s zipper down, “You need to kiss me. The whole time.”

 

If there was ever a request, an  _ order _ , that Keith could follow- it was definitely  _ that _ .

 

He closed the gap now, kissed Shiro, as the other hand got his hand into his pants, squeezed him through his underwear. Keith’s breath stuttered, and he hooked his arm behind Shiro’s neck now, other hand reaching back into his suit, wrapping around his cock and stroking. Shrio rocked towards his hand, as Keith continued to slide along his thigh, whining when Shiro didn’t get his hand around him, but continued to tease through the cotton of his underwear.

 

“C’mon,” Keith mumbled, into his mouth- was rewarded with a gentle nip at his lower lip. Shiro smirked, and Keith felt his belly going to pure molten liquid, as Shiro gave him another firm squeeze, before  _ finally _ tugging at his underwear. It took a bit of maneuvering, but when Keith’s cock finally bobbed free, and Shiro got his hand around it, Keith sighed, kisses growing lazy as he was distracted by the skin-on-skin feeling.

 

“Talk to me,” Shiro said, easing his hand up, thumb rubbing over the head, smearing precum over the sensitive skin.

 

“Hard to do,” Keith mumbled, kissing the corner of Shiro’s mouth, “If you want me to kiss you.” He grinned, and Shiro squeezed, broke off Keith’s breathing from the exquisite pressure.

 

“Brat,” he teased, before pecking his lips. “I was wondering where the real you was.” He eased his hand back down, began stroking in a quick rhythm, and Keith was so damn  _ distracted _ it was hard to keep moving his hand, his mind reeling over the fact that this was  _ real _ .

 

Shiro was  _ definitely _ touching him.

 

Keith groaned, as Shiro kissed him again, slipped his tongue back into his mouth. Keith suckd at the muscle, nipped at it with his teeth, before finally gathering his focus enough to start stroking Shiro again. He managed to finally get him free of his suit, felt Shiro’s fingers digging into his back as he stroked quickly, twisting his fist around the head. The push of warm metal made his skin buzz.

 

Keith began to lose track over their breathing- the sounds lost in the wet slides of their mouths, the little noises that he couldn’t distinguish. Was that his own whine, or Shiro’s? Whose groan was that- who was panting into the kiss and who was forgetting to breathe?

 

He only realized Shiro was panting, when he grew light headed and realized he was holding his breath.

 

Another whine, this one definitely from Shiro, before he pulled his mouth off of Keith’s, dropping his head and nuzzling into his neck, sucking at the skin there as his hips rocked towards Keith’s hand, desperately. Each breath dragged a noise from Shiro’s mouth, little groans and whines and broken sounds- and then suddenly he was gasping, right into Keith’s pulse, his hips stuttering.

 

Keith  _ felt _ his cock pulsing, throbbing in his hand- felt the heat of his cum, slick of his fingers, up against his wrist. He gasped,  _ whined _ , and  _ holy fuck Shiro just came in his hand _ .

 

This was a wet dream come to  _ life _ .

 

Keith stopped moving, was barely breathing- ignoring the way his cock was aching in Shiro’s still hand- simply let the man sag against him, trying to catch his breath. He clung to Shiro tighter, turning, getting his mouth in his hair and kissing awkwardly. Affectionately.

 

He  _ felt _ the pull of Shiro’s lips, against his pulse.

 

And then the ease of his hand, back up along his cock, and Keith was shaking again. He felt on edge, mostly from  _ Shiro’s _ own orgasm than anything else, and suddenly there were teeth against his neck, like Shiro wanted to taste everything beneath his skin. “C’mon,” he mumbled into his neck, tightening his grip- and god,  _ Shiro wanted him to come _ .

 

Keith swallowed thickly, let his eyes fall shut, head tipping back, couldn’t stop from trying to rut against the well muscled thigh between his legs as Shiro continued to jerk him off, the fingers of his Galra tech arm still digging into his back, holding on like he was afraid Keith might up and disappear.

 

Fade away.

 

Dissipate.

 

“Ah,  _ ahh _ , Shi-ro,” Keith babbled, mouth falling open. His belly was tight, so much so it  _ hurt _ , but he just couldn’t seem to  _ get there _ , no matter how good this felt-

 

That is, until Shiro was lifting his head, breathing his name into his ear, and suddenly Keith was shaking and gasping, coming all over Shiro’s fist. Shiro smiled, kept stroking him until Keith was going limp. He leaned back, might have fallen right off the damn table if Shiro didn’t straighten up, tug him against his chest and hold him still, as he found his mouth and kissed him again.

 

This time, the desperation was gone. It was slower, almost  _ sweet _ , and Keith liked the way Shiro’s mouth felt against his own, how the pressure made the buzzing under his skin intensify. He got his hand in Shiro’s short hair, held him still as he dragged his mouth off Shiro’s, up along his cheek, until he felt the edges of his scar beneath his lips.

 

“That was okay?” Shiro asked, as Keith got the corner of his eye, then his temple. He nodded, still trying to catch his breath.

 

“More than okay,” he offered, tugging at Shiro’s short hair gently. “Wouldn’t have let you, if it wasn’t going to be  _ okay _ .” He squeezed his legs around Shiro’s thigh again, dipping down to his ear. “Feel better?”

 

“Shouldn’t  _ I _ be asking  _ you _ that?”

 

Keith shrugged a shoulder, felt Shiro’s hand on his back moving, until his arm was locked around his waist, those smooth metal fingers rubbing against his bare skin affectionately. He exhaled the smallest laugh, pulling back enough to find Shiro’s eyes, hold their stare. “Still worry you’re a monster?” he asked, ignoring Shiro’s question entirely. The hand at his waist clutched tightly, and Keith reached down, covering Shiro’s hand with his. “Because if you do, I’ll remind you that you’re  _ not _ . And you’re not gonna be.” Keith paused, then added, “Anytime you need me to…”

 

It was an invitation, one that had Keith  _ wanting _ to look away- because he felt  _ lucky  _ this had even happened once. But to think maybe it could happen again… maybe it could be a thing-

 

“Yeah?” Shiro leaned in, let his lips touch the bridge of Keith’s nose affectionately. “Maybe I’ll take you up on that. I think I need someone  _ else _ in my head. Someone with  _ good _ things to say.”

 

Keith grinned then, over the prospect that Shiro could  _ trust _ him inside his head. Over the fact that Shiro was referring to him as something  _ good _ .

 

Over the fact that, for the first time in a while, his body felt  _ good _ again.

**Author's Note:**

> Here's to hoping I get a better handle on their voices. Still feeling the characters out. Also, considering a follow up fic...


End file.
